MasterSwords - Premium

Teacher Overview

Engage in a war of words and swords in Mastersword. Spelling skills decide the victor in this one or two-player game that develops literacy skills in an entertaining and humour-filled way.

Teacher Review

Masterswords. That's a clever title if ever there was one. Do battle in a game where the combatants' sword-wielding prowess is defined by the player's ability to build words from a set of selected letters. Are you a master of swords or are you someone who masters words?

Borrowing a scoring mechanic from popular tile-based word games, players are given a set of tiles with letters on them. Each letter is worth a value determined by its frequency of use in the English language. The player enters the highest scoring word that he or she can think of and this translates into the strength of the player's attack. The computer, or another human in two player mode, then responds in kind.

A really imaginative touch and one that impresses in its breadth is the use of the created word in a sentence. The developers have covered a surprisingly high number of words with these example sentences and they provide some light-hearted humour too. As the on-screen character bounds forth to deliver the attack, a speech bubble uses the chosen word to deliver the amusingly insulting sentence to the foe.

As funny as this is it has an educational benefit too. Players are building words from scratch, not just identifying them in a multiple choice selection. They are then seeing them used. Spelling and understanding grow simultaneously as this game is played.

The quality of writing is superb as it links the player's adventures between sections of the game. The text is clear and readable on screen but what it says is also well-crafted. It develops the narrative in an imaginative way that develops the comedic tone shown in the rest of the game.

There is absolutely nothing to fault in the presentation of Masterswords. The graphics and animation are equal to those found in pure entertainment apps. High-quality sound effects intersperse music and both can be toggled on or off to suit the environment in which the game is played.

Children who have exclusive use of the app can enjoy the progress and motivation that this provides. Things are not quite so clear cut for classroom devices where children might have to share a single instance of the app. Here teachers will wish that children could create their own identity in the app to preserve their progress. The two-player mode is the saving grace in the classroom, though. The app will prove a highly popular activity in literacy lessons as children battle it out against each other.

The app is available in two ways letting you choose the most value for money way of accessing it. A one-off purchase puts the app on your device. A rolling monthly subscription makes this app and many others by the same developer available to play. Judging by the useful website that supports this app, they are similarly well focussed in providing educational benefits in a fun way. Schools might well find this an ideal way to expand their app collection. The app does allow a discount for schools who purchase 20 or more copies of the app.

Masterswords is a fantastic app that will delight parents, teachers, and children.

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Screenshots

Developer Description

Words are your weapons as you battle zombies, goblins and an assortment of other unsavory creatures. And if that’s not enough, take on your friends in multiplayer matches!

Journey through the four kingdoms collecting powers, rainbow unicorn socks and other great loot.
Slam your opponent with taunts using the words you spell. Over 40,000 taunts to heckle your enemies!
Learn new vocabulary in a hilarious and exciting context.